Buzzer Beater
by weirdismyname
Summary: Danger lies ahead of the Generation of Miracles. Who would be able to stop it before it's too late? Trust issues ensue, hatred grows, sadness blooms... a dark life comes afterwards. But… one girl can still bring out the light.
1. Chapter 1: Alumni Event

**a/n:**

Hello there, dear readers! I was done with my Naruto fanfiction a couple of days ago. I did say I was going to take a short break but... I just needed to post this new story. XD

I would like to make a short shout-out for **MaritaLae, **my BETA for this story and my best friend in real life. Ohoho. Thanks for correcting errors for me! And thanks for some fanarts you made. *wink

Okay then! Without further ado, here is the first chapter of Buzzer Beater.

* * *

**Buzzer Beater**

Danger lies ahead of the Generation of Miracles. Who would be able to stop it before it's too late? Aomine Daiki was framed for all the crimes. Trust issues ensue, hatred grows, sadness blooms... a dark life comes afterwards. But… one girl can still bring out the light.

AomineOC.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Alumni Homecoming **

"You have to be kidding me, Midorimacchi."

A man in striking blond hair sighed in utter disbelief as he judgmentally stared at the small Goldilocks Doll in the arms of his green-haired companion. Apparently, they just entered the school gym of Teiko Middle School, completely darting the attention of all the people towards their direction. The two didn't mind actually, but their towering heights were definitely not unrecognizable.

_Midorimacchi _didn't bother to even look at his companion as he automatically replied, "This antique Goldilocks Doll is today's lucky item." He pushed up his glasses with his bandaged fingers, as if very proud to share the information.

The blond could only snort at _Midorimacchi, "_I'm not against your beliefs in luck or such but… don't you even feel embarrassed that you're carrying a… girl's toy?"

"Hn. They do not know what they are lacking. I only care about what Oha-Asa says about my horoscope. My luck today is not as high as the previous so I'm not going anywhere without my Goldi-chan." The green-haired guy answered sternly.

The handsome blondie sweat-dropped. "Goldi…chan."

Since the conversation would take them nowhere, Kise Ryouta decided to drop the topic. Sooner than he expected, girls from all directions surrounded him and completely separated him from his former teammate, Midorima Shintarou.

"It's been a while, Kise-sama!"

"How are you doing, Kise-sama?"

"I missed you, Kise-kun!"

"Can I please have your sign again?"

A charismatic smile went across Kise's handsome face, entertaining every single girl who approached him as best as he could. He seemed pretty accustomed to such a situation, well, he's a supermodel after all.

Midorima didn't care about the crowd at all. Even he himself was drawing attention to him, since he was in the Generation of Miracles after all. Yet he chose to entertain few people—to entertain people whom he thought worth talking to. Like the former President of the Newspapers club, and the Student Council President. The rest were snubbed like a pro.

"Midorima-kun."

A blue haired student in the black jersey of _Seirin _suddenly appeared right beside Midorima, which didn't give much surprise to the emerald-haired shooter.

"Ah, Kuroko." Was his static reply.

"So you came too, huh?" Kuroko Tetsuya, the phantom sixth member, replied as he took a beverage from the passing waiter who seemed not to notice about the disappeared glass of iced tea from his tray.

"I wouldn't if it weren't for his message." Midorima said.

"Midorima-kun also got a message from Akashi-kun… I assume that the rest also received it." Kuroko stated nonchalantly and then took a sip at the iced tea. "Have you greeted him yet?"

"No. And I don't intend to." Midorima said with a hint of slight annoyance.

"That's quite cruel Mido-chin~" Both turned at the new source of voice coming from behind them. A man with the height that no one in the room could compete against seemed to own the lazy voice.

"It's been a long time, Murasakibara-kun." Kuroko greeted emotionlessly.

"Hey there, Kuro-chin~ You're always so serious." Murasakibara Atsushi replied and then brought his big hand on the bluenette's head, ruffling his hair as if he were a puppy.

A vein only appeared on Kuroko's forehead, implying his annoyance. In one swift movement of his hand, he shoved Murasakibara's hand away from his head and said, "Stop doing that, please." Even with the politeness of his words, his tone showed his irritation.

"But it's fun ruffling Kuro-chin's head." Murasakibara reasoned out, "And Mido-chin is as bitter as always."

"Shut up, Murasakibara." Midorima blurted as he began walking away. He could never stand those two. The childishness of Murasakibara and his incompatibleness with Kuroko. It was annoying.

"There they are! The other members of the Generation of Miracles."

Surprisingly, there was Press in the room, and they were surrounding a certain red hair who was calmly approaching Kuroko, Murasakibara, and Midorima (who was on his quest to leave the site by the moment).

"Aka-chin~ Over here, over here~" The tall violet-haired center waved his hand at the Rakuzan member.

"I'm pleased to see you two in this event, Tetsuya, Shintarou." Akashi greeted in his usual tone and then he turned to the Center, "Atsushi, get Ryota over here. It seems he needs to escape from such a crowd." He then turned his gaze towards where Midorima left Kise earlier where the fan girl doubled their amount.

"Okaaaay." Murasakibara complied without hesitations, and with his towering height, the females immediately moved away and left Kise with finally a comfortable space. Kise thanked Murasakibara and then the two headed back to where Akashi, Kuroko and Midorima were.

Thus, it was the press that surrounded them as if they were celebrities. Well, they were since they're the Generation of Miracles after all.

The interviewers threw them multiple questions at a time, Kise and Akashi were the ones answering the questions properly. Midorima was quite unapproachable. Murasakibara barely paid attention and just enjoyed his bag of sweets which Akashi just gave him. Kuroko… well, no one seemed to notice his existence.

As the interview pressed on, Murasakibara suddenly spoke to the phantom sixth member, "_Seirin…" _he read Kuroko's jersey. "Isn't that the school where Yuki-chin also goes to?"

Kuroko turned to him, "Oh, yes. She said she would also attend to Alumni Homecoming."

"Eh~? Then where is she? I wanna see her!" Murasakibara suddenly turned excited for some reasons.

"I guess she's around here somewhere. Probably with the Baseball team." Kuroko said in a monotonous voice.

Without warnings, Murasakibara walked through the press and searched for the girl he called, "Yuki-chin".

Midorima seemed quite disturbed. He just pressed his glasses and clutched his Goldi-chan tighter.

Akashi's voice caught the members by surprise, "Where's Daiki?"

* * *

Yukina Kotori, age fifteen, height 157cm, civil status: single, First year high school at Seirin Academy, Manager of the Seirin Basketball club. That's what she had been repeating for the redundant questions of her former classmates in Teiko, former club members in the Baseball club, and some interviewers.

She sighed in relief as she took a seat at a nearby chair. She had finally managed to escape the crowd and get herself to somewhere quite peaceful, which was at the farthest corner of the gym. Never had she imagined that the Alumni Homecoming this year would be very… extra special. The Press was everywhere, numerous upper classmen from different batches gathered, the gym was arranged in a luxurious party, waiters and waitresses walked around serving different beverages, the buffet was high class. She didn't even know if her attire fitted in the venue since she was on her usual Seirin uniform… but she guessed it was fine because most of the alumni were wearing their high school uniforms.

But then, another guy approached her.

"Hello there. Would you like to join me? I graduated from this school two years ago and I attend…"

Kotori politely listened to a _senpai _that was introducing himself, but with the noise all around them, she wasn't able to absorb everything he said. Especially his name.

"…You were freshmen when I first saw you in this school, I thought you were really cute so… can we be friends?"

A smile formed on Kotori's naturally pink lips, "We can get acquainted, senpai. But I apologize that I need to turn down your offer. I am waiting for a friend so I cannot join you…" she calmly explained as she gently rejected him.

"I-is that so? So, I will see you later then, Kotori-san." The guy then humbly accepted the rejection and left her alone, respecting her decision.

Was she that very noticeable? She was already at the farthest corner of the gym. Still, someone found her. Well, ever since she was a child people always noticed her. Hair black as ebony, skin white as snow, lips pink as cherry blossoms—she was always described as Snow White, the only feature she violated was the "lips red as rose". She didn't want to think about that now.

Kotori sighed. She felt a little bit bad on what she did. It was true that she came here with a companion, a guy from Seirin's basketball team named Kuroko Tetsuya, but she eventually told him that she better not join him at the rest of the event because she didn't want to be a hindrance to him with his reunion with the Generation of Miracles. So, technically, she was alone now. And she didn't have someone to accompany her right now. Momoi Satsuki, her best friend, was somewhere around the room looking for Tetsuya. The pinkette was a member of the Generation of Miracles also so she couldn't be with her right now.

Yes, she didn't want to be a hindrance to her friends who were members of the Generation of Miracles.

… Was that really it?

Or was the real reason something else?

Something… _deeper _than that.

She sadly smiled to herself.

_Yappari ne, I am a coward… I still can't face __**him.**_

Her long wavy hair slid down in front of her as she lowered her head. She clutched her skirt, trying to conceal her emotions. Because right now… it was as if her heart would explode in extreme anxiousness.

_What do I do if I see him? What am I going to say? _

She bit her lower lip. She took a glance at her wrist watch for a time check, it was 7:20pm. It has only been twenty minutes since she arrived at the Teiko gym with Kuroko, and the event had not properly started yet since the one responsible for the Alumni Homecoming this year has not yet arrived. Before she could get carried away into worrying herself more… she suddenly felt a light touch on her head.

Her eyes widened in surprise. This touch… it was so familiar to her. For a hand so big, for fingers so long, for such built to give her such a light touch… this could only mean one thing.

Kotori slowly brought her face up, still the foreign hand attached on her head, gently ruffling her hair.

Innocent black eyes meeting with lazy purple ones.

"So this is where you were, Yuki-chin. Why are you sulking at the corner? Did someone pick on you?" Murasakibara said as he continued disrupting her ebony hair.

Kotori blinked. "Mu-chan…?"

Murasakibara smiled like a child, "It's been a long time, Yuki-chin!" he then removed his hand from her head and dug it into the bag of sweets he's holding in his other hand.

Kotori swiftly stood up, "It's nice to see you again, Mu-chan!" she said cheerfully, leaving her anxious mode for a while.

"Here you go. A present for Yuki-chin~" Murasakibara then handed her a pouch of vanilla flavored candies. Her black eyes suddenly shined. "They're your favorite, right?"

Kotori was like a little child. She looked the happiest in the entire world just by getting the most amazing candies she had ever tasted in her life. "Thank you so much for this. It's been ages since I ate one."

The purple-haired center gave her a pat on the head, "_Dou itashi~_ Then, why are you over here? Don't you want to meet the others, Yuki-chin?"

Suddenly she flinched. The anxiousness came back just by Murasakibara's mention of "others". It rang to her as "Generation of Miracles".

"I-I'm fine, Mu-chan. I-I'm not a member of Generation of Miracles after all… I don't want to just walk in." she vaguely said.

Murasakibara tilted his head, "What are you saying, Yuki-chin~? We're your friends, right? Let's go~"

"E-eh? B-but—"

Before she could protest, her huge friend took her hand and dragged her with him as he walked through the ocean of people. She was trying to get free from his grasp but _heck_, as if that would help her out. Her height barely reached his shoulders. He was far bigger than she was, and far stronger. There's no way she could escape from him.

There's no way she could escape from fate's cruel deeds.

_What do I do…? What if he's there? What do I say? _

Her heart had begun accelerating again.

_Oh, God… please, help me. _

To be continued.

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**a/n:**

So... what did you guys think? :) Please, leave a review! ^^ Our Hero would make his appearance soon! Hihihi.

Wheeee~

**Vocabulary**

**Yappari ne- As I expected**

**Dou itashi- you're welcome**


	2. Chapter 2: Golden Coin

**a/n:**

Hi there, guys! Thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites! :) It made me happy. I plan to upload this chapter sooner-actually, two days right after I posted the first chapter of this story but well, I made a very unexpected mistake. *cries*

I literally destroyed my only access to the internet... which is a broadband. TT-TT I really don't know what I did. I was only trying to fix it and... it suddenly broke. *sigh*

I would like to thank my very good friend, **MartiaLae** for being my beta. :) I also would like to thank **In Dein Herz** for helping me develop the entire plot of the story. Whooo! Degraded brain cells but it was worth it! XD

**DISCLAIMER: It pains me to say this but... I do not own Kuroko no Basuke. **

* * *

**Chapter 2: Golden Coin**

Badump. Badump. Badump.

Every step they took… Kotori knew it was drawing her near to the Generation of Miracles.

"_Hayaku,_ Yuki-chin~"

Murasaki said and then pulled her towards him to speed up the girl. He was such a tall guy after all—abnormally tall—who took longer strides than average people. And what was Kotori again? 157cm.

Kotori could only shut her eyes. Why was destiny so cruel to her? If she could just go straight home right now.

And then…

BAM!

Much to her surprise, she collided with someone, which confused her very much. People usually make way whenever Murasakibara was walking. He was even holding her hand. And yet, here she was, lying on the ground as a result of her collision with another alumni student she didn't know.

Murasakibara was alerted when Kotori's wrist suddenly slid out of his grasp. The next thing he saw was she was seated on the floor, she somehow managed to protect the pouch of vanilla candies. Then his eyes darted at the guy who caused his Yuki-chin to flinch from the pain of falling. It was a guy in all black, face hidden because of his hat.

"Sorry."

Was all the man said to the Seirin Manager. He left in a hurry without even trying to help Kotori up.

It maddened Murasakibara. Before the man in black could completely get away, the Generation of Miracles's center stood right in front of his path and hovered him over like a mountain. The usual lazy demeanor of Murasakibara Atsushi didn't leave a trace on his intense glare. His eyes glinted under the strands of his purple hair, showing complete threat and menace. "I want to crush you."

The man stepped back, "Wh-what's with you?"

Kotori immediately sensed this. Murasakibara _is _pissed off. Big time. She pushed herself up the ground and urgently went to him to stop the soon-to-be big commotion. "I'm fine! I wasn't looking at where I was going, I'm very sorry." She then muttered a very soft, "Leave now, please." to the mysterious man as she held the giant high-schooler.

Murasakibara was still pissed. He was about to go after the man, but Kotori abruptly shoved a Nerunerunerune candy straight into his mouth.

The giant swallowed the whole thing. The intensity of his glare disappeared as he looked down on the smaller figure.

Kotori smiled, "I'm all right, Mu-chan. I'm not mad at the man. I wasn't looking at where I was going so it's not entirely his fault." She calmly explained to the childish center.

"But the next time I see him hurt Yuki-chin I'll crush him~" He said in his usual sluggish tone.

"Mu-chan, I already told you that I'm—"

"Yuki-chin." The coldness of his voice went back. The menacing glare was there again.

Kotori flinched, "Mu-chan?"

"I will crush him next time, ne?"

Kotori gulped. "_H-hai…"_

"Atsushi, there you are."

A low boyish voice came from the newly arrived childhood friend of Kotori. She didn't have to wonder who it was. Both black and purple heads turned towards the voice's direction and greeted the red-head basketball emperor.

"Aka-chin~" Murasakibara took another bite of Nerunerunerune candy.

"Seijuro-kun." Kotori's eyes then traveled to Akashi's companions, instantly checking if _he _was there. Her gaze fell to the tall blond, then to the emerald-hair, next was her bluenette schoolmate, and then to the bright pink. A big lump promptly vanished inside her tight chest.

_He's not here… thank God. _

Before she could say her greetings to her friends, tight arms engulfed her in a bear hug. All she could see was the pink hair all over.

"I missed you so much Kotoriiiiin!" Momoi Satsuki was killing her best friend at the moment.

"Sa-satsu-chan…" Kotori choked.

"We weren't able to talk much since Inter High. I feel really bad that we didn't get the chance to bond after our game!" Satsuki said, oblivious of the suffering Kotori was undergoing. "We need to shop again, okay? Summer break will soon be over and our training camp is also nearly over… we have to catch up with our lives! I know a very great cake shop! We should eat there, okay?"

"Y-yes, Satsu-chan…" Kotori's choking continued.

"Momoicchi! Yukinacchi is going to faint if you continue hugging her like that!" Kise, the savior, heroically intervened.

Momoi blinked innocuously and then released the ebony-haired Seirin Manager. "Uwaaa! _Gomen_, Kotorin! Are you all right?" she concernedly asked as she noticed how _paler _Kotori's pale face became.

Kotori gasped for dear air, when she recovered, she smiled sweetly at her best friend, "I'm feeling splendid, Satsu-chan. I missed you too."

"It's been a while, Yukinacchi. Training Seirin very hard for the Winter Cup, huh? We have to watch out." Kise gave her one of his gorgeous smiles.

Kotori nodded, "Riko-senpai is going all out on all the players. We as well need to watch out for the other schools." She replied.

"The Winter Cup is going to reunite us all again, _ne_? This is going to be fun!" Satsuki giggled.

Kotori could only agree. She was looking forward competing with Momoi again. It was true that they were best friends since Middle School, but she considered the pinkette also her greatest rival. Their data gathering and analogy always collide with each other. She didn't want to lose to her; and Momoi reciprocated the feeling. They weren't able to test each other's skills when they were still in Middle School because Kotori was the Baseball team manager and Momoi was the Basketball team manager, so it meant a lot for the both of them to be the Managers of different basketball teams in High School.

Their recent battle was during the playoffs for the Inter High… Seirin's game against Touou.

…When Seirin lost.

Kotori mentally shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking about that right now. She will only ruin her mood, and probably everyone's mood if she expressed her worries.

"I'm glad you're able to make it, Kotori." The shortly absent voice spoke again to draw everyone's attention to him.

"Of course, Seijuro-kun. I cannot refuse your request when I got your message." Kotori replied.

"I insist you join us instead of going with the Baseball team. Your captain has not yet arrived, after all." Akashi said.

"Oh, no. That is not necessary. I don't deserve to join the Generation of—" before she could finish her point, Akashi effectively cut her.

"You will join us for the rest of the event. Let's go." The Emperor commanded and then walked away.

Kotori could never argue with that. She sighed in defeat. It was Akashi whom she was dealing with. Ever since she learned how to speak and walk, Akashi was always the absolute rule.

"Come now, Kotorin!" Momoi said as she followed Akashi. Kise and Murasakibara trailed them next.

Kotori gulped. Well, she could hang out with them as long as the _other _member wouldn't show himself in the entire event, then everything would be fine. She then took a step to follow them, but suddenly, she heard a cling under her foot which made her stop for the meantime.

"Huh?"

She slightly lifted her foot and she checked what she unintentionally stepped on. It shined in a gold glint from the light. She bent down and took the item to her hands, only for her to notice that it was a golden coin… but it was not money.

A frown formed on her forehead as she read what was carved at the surface of the golden coin, "Child of God."

It was probably dropped by the man in black earlier when she bumped into him. She surveyed the room to look for the mysterious man, but she couldn't see any traces of him.

"Yukina-san." A blank voice suddenly startled her.

Kotori slightly jumped but maintained her composure, "Ah, Tetsuya-kun… I thought you went with Seijuro-kun." She said.

"You seemed troubled. Is something the matter?" Kuroko asked.

Kotori denied, "Nothing in particular. It's just the man I bumped into dropped something…" she explained, "I'll return it to him when I have the chance." She slid the golden coin inside her coat's pocket and joined Kuroko to go to Akashi and the others.

Unbeknownst the little "Snow White", a pair of green eyes were eyeing her every move. But a certain blond was not oblivious to this discreet action.

Kise elbowed Midorima, "If you want to talk to her, then just talk. Yukinacchi definitely won't ignore you. She's the kindest person in the whole world, and you know that, Midorimacchi." He whispered to the sharp shooter.

"Stay away. You disgust me." Midorima said harshly and walked forward to leave the male model. (*I'm rereading this, I know. But that is so hidoi xD)

Kise pouted, "You're so mean, Midorimacchi! Here I am, showing my sincere care for you!"

"_Shinu." _Midorima stated negligently and he completely separated himself from the group.

Kotori and Kuroko approached the upset Kise, "Where is Midorima-kun going, Kise-kun?" she asked.

"I don't know. He _is _such a Tsundere." Kise complained.

.

.

.

"Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. I, Zaburo Shunsui, am very delighted to see that all of you were able to attend our Alumni Homecoming. It is such a privilege that I was given the opportunity to organize this event, and as you can all see, I took our celebration if I must say, to a higher level. I cannot waste this big opportunity after all. That's why I searched for our prodigal alumni from all over the country to attend this very special occasion. I know I am a mere Freshman studying in Kozuki Academy—I have only graduated from this remarkable school a year ago, so I have done my best to organize this event in order not to let all of you down…"

Zaburo Shunsui, the former Captain of the Baseball team, was the main organizer of the Alumni Homecoming this year. Kotori was a little bit surprised. She didn't know her captain was the one responsible to all of these. Kozuki Academy? He went there? One of the most outstanding schools in Japan—only the rich could afford to study there. Well, he can since he's the son of the President of a well-known jewelry company.

"…my batch-mates, as you can all remember, I took the Baseball team to the Nationals—"

_Oh boy, it starts. _Kotori could only roll her eyes to her captain. He didn't change at all. He was always so boastful of his achievements. Yes, he was a prodigy as well. Excellent in all subjects. The Captain and Ace of the Baseball team. A very great cook. Tall, handsome, and rich. But his attitude didn't pass Kotori's standards. And never she would regret rejecting his feelings when he confessed to her during Third Year in Middle School.

_That's why he was so persistent in recruiting me as the Baseball Manager. _Kotori sighed. She could never forget how he manipulated her. They were just freshmen when Shunsui joined the Baseball club, immediately his abilities were recognized and he became the Ace of the team. He suggested that they have a manager like Kotori. At first, she was confused why they chose her, and then that's when Shunsui sugar-coated her with words about her special skills. Much that she regretted thinking about it now, she easily fell for his pleads and joined the Baseball club. She could accept it if his main intention was to only use her skills to win the games—and she had done her best to help the team and she has done _many_ things to make the team win.

But…

Kotori frowned.

But when they were in Senior year, he suddenly confessed his feelings to her. That his main reason why he recruited her as the Manager of the Baseball club was because he wanted her near him so he could keep an eye on her. That to make sure no other guy would have intentions of declaring their love to her. That to make sure she'd fall for him when she realizes how good he was in everything.

Kotori had an urge to kill him that moment. But, she was a delicate lady. Raised by her parents to be a calm Japanese woman. Her mother was a Yamato Nadeshiko and her father was a well-respected man, she came from a noble family so she had learned to deal with dilemmas in her own proper way. She rejected his love and truthfully said that she felt nothing. The only aspect that Shunsui possessed that made it easier for her was his gentlemanliness. He accepted her decision as a man. He respected what she felt as a man. Then viola, problem solved.

But in the end, she still couldn't stand his attitude.

"I was a prodigal son…"

His speech about his _prodigal life _continued. Kotori didn't know how much longer she could stand it… she didn't last for another second so she asked permission from Akashi to excuse herself for a moment. The red-head emperor nodded, completely understanding why she suddenly wanted to go away. They had known each other since they were in diapers, after all. Akashi knew what had happened between her and the Baseball captain so he couldn't blame her.

Kuroko offered if she wanted him to accompany her, but she politely turned him down, saying that she could handle herself. She wouldn't want to snatch him from Momoi who was obviously trying to own Kuroko's attention.

Kotori walked away from the group. She wanted to go somewhere far from the stage where her sight could be blocked by many people so she won't be able to see Shunsui. As her eyes roamed the place, she spotted a prominent green head that elevated higher from the average crowd. She decided to go that way. As she got nearer at the guy, she observed that he was doing a little investigation on the buffet.

"So this is where you are, Midorima-kun." She walked towards him with a smile.

Midorima gave her an uninterested look, "Yukina." Was all that he replied.

Kotori couldn't help but notice the cute blonde doll in Midorima's arms. "Goldilocks? Is that the lucky item for today?"

"Hn." Another monosyllabic reply.

Then there came an awkward silence between the two.

"My pride was my baseball team! That's why I did everything I could to always hit that ball for a home run—"

Kotori's eyebrow twitched. She may not be able to see Shunsui from her distance anymore but she could still hear him with the help of the speakers all around the school gym. She must get distracted to completely ignore everything about Shunsui.

"The Winter Cup is in three months… we'll be facing against each other soon." She finally opened a topic that would capture her companion's attention.

"Yeah. The day that Shutoku will crush Seirin into pieces." Midorima commented.

Kotori could only giggle, "You know I won't let you do that, Midorima-kun. As long as I'm here, I won't let any team crush Seirin."

"But are they skilled enough to execute your strategies perfectly? I think not. Only with the skill of the Generation of Miracles can use the whole advantage of your plans." The green-haired shooter said bluntly.

"That again." Kotori pouted, "That's the hundredth time you told that to me. Have you forgotten…? Shutoku lost to Seirin." Her innocent smile turned mischievous but maintained that purity.

Midorima was stoned on his spot. It seemed Kotori struck a nerve there.

"Seirin has changed. Everyone became stronger. And definitely the other teams as well." Kotori said, "Kagami-kun began to understand his special abilities more. He won't stop talking about crushing Midorima-kun the next time he meets you. I've been training him _really _hard."

"But that still won't change the fact that he's an idiot." Midorima said as he pushed his glasses coolly.

Kotori giggled in an angelic manner again, "That's right. He is quite a handful… but I've handled a more complicated person than him before." She said, completely referring to her childhood friend Akashi.

"Hn." Midorima replied.

And then… silence came forth anew.

"We lost many times but it made us all stronger! We stood—"

Kotori's eyebrow twitched again. She was hearing Shunsui's rambles again. "Midorima-kun, please talk to me."

Midorima gave her a suspicious look.

"Please, say anything."

"Kagami is an idiot."

Kotori blinked, "That's rather harsh…" she said.

"Hn."

And then there was silence again. Then…

"My life has changed—I must say that I became a better person because of my teammates—" Shunsui continued.

Kotori's eyebrow twitched. "Midorima-kun, please don't stop talking to me. Say everything you want."

"Seirin will lose."

"E-eh…?"

"Kagami is nothing but an idiot, _na no dayo_."

"Th-that again…?"

"He jumps like a flea."

Kotori blinked.

"My shots never miss because I always have excellent luck."

"Does everything have to do with luck?"

"Hn."

"Oh no, no. Please, don't say that. Every time Midorima-kun says, "Hn", the whole conversation ends and then silence will come and I'll hear Shunsui-san's voice."

"You do not want to pay attention to your captain's speech."

Kotori nodded shyly.

"Hn."

And then there was the expected silence. Midorima didn't talk while Kotori begged for him to say anything.

"You're doing this on purpose." Kotori pouted.

As the speech of Zaburo went on, Kotori suffered with Midorima's silent bullying. But all of a sudden, their attentions were drawn away by a disturbing intrusion from the loud bursting of the Gym's door.

"This shit is really troublesome."

The man responsible for the distraction groaned in irritation as he scratched the back of his dark blue head. His incredible height stood him out of the crowd; his dark skin made him different from everyone else inside the room. "As long as there's something nice to eat…" he began walking across the gym as he yawned, the crowd making way for him.

Shunsui was forced to stop his speech when he noticed that all heads were turned away from the stage, all focused at the dark blue haired man walking across the gym. He cleared his throat to regain their attention but it was useless.

"He finally decided to show up! That idiot." Satsuki crossed her arms on her chest.

"That is him! Aomine Daiki, the Ace of the Generation of Miracles! We must interview him!" the press recording Shunsui's speech suddenly left him and rushed towards the newly arrived member of the Generation of Miracles.

Aomine somehow managed to be lead to where Akashi and the others stood, which caused him to form a smirk, "So here you all are."

"Aomine-kun, even in this event, you have to be late? I can't believe you! You should be ashamed of yourself!" Satsuki scolded.

Aomine clicked his tongue against his teeth, "You're so loud, Satsuki."

In a matter of seconds, the Generation of Miracles was the center of attention again as the Press surrounded them all because of Aomine's arrival.

"Midorimacchi! Come over here!" Kise waved at Midorima.

"Right. I'll come over." Midorima muttered to himself, "I'll leave you for a while, Yukina." He then turned to his female companion, which caught him slightly in bewilderment. The usual calm demeanor on Kotori's features was replaced by uneasiness and tenseness. "Yukina?" he furrowed his brows.

It was no use. Kotori wasn't able to hear anything or see anyone else. All she could see… was Aomine Daiki. All the worries she felt earlier this evening came back to her.

Aomine Daiki came.

Kotori's heart sank.

...

To be continued.

* * *

**a/n:**

That's it for chapter 2! Please, leave a review! The next one would be up soon.

**Vocabulary**

**Gomen- sorry**

**Shinu- die**


	3. Chapter 3: Attack

**a/n:**

Thank you so much for the reviews, my dear readers! Also for the favorites and follows. :)

Thank you as always for my beta, **MartiaLae. **And also to my good friend, **In Dein Herz **for helping me develop my story.

Now, on to the chapter! :)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke or any of its characters. **

* * *

**Chapter 3: Attack**

Kotori's whole world stopped when her black eyes fell upon the Ace of the Generation of Miracles. She forgot to breathe; she forgot to think; she forgot everything. Her mind was blank and it's as if she had seen a ghost from the past. This was the reason why she didn't want to go to the Alumni Homecoming. It was only Akashi's message that convinced her to attend. If only she had the courage to turn down Akashi's request then she wouldn't have to go through this emotional breakdown. Two main reasons which made her regret coming to this event: Reason number one: she found out that Zaburo Shunsui hosted the special occasion; Reason number two: when she thought that Aomine Daiki wouldn't come, eventually he showed himself and made a very great entrance.

"Yukina." Midorima called for her again, but he was not getting any responses from the stunned Seirin manager. He was curious to what made her fall to that state.

_Why… why is he here? _Kotori thought to herself. She felt her knees becoming wobbly and her heart felt like it would jump out of her chest soon. Her blank mind then became a chamber of troubling questions… each questions arose to worsen her situation.

But then… everything turned to worst.

Apparently, Aomine Daiki… was looking at her.

It was doomsday for Yukina Kotori.

The ebony-haired girl screamed for her legs to move, but they won't listen to her. She was perfectly stoned to where she was. This was not looking good. Aomine had spotted her and was straightly looking at her. How did he even find her? As much as she wanted to tear her gaze away from him, her eyes were not very cooperative with her commands. She won't take his eyes off him as he stared back at her.

He was staring at her directly… with his eyes suddenly widening and his blank look turning into an alerting expression. He yelled at her, but she wasn't able to comprehend what his mouth was forming. Was he talking to her? The next thing she saw was he was moving—running towards her.

Kotori frowned, and finally, she was able to return to the real world.

"Watch out, Yukina!" her green-haired companion counseled with an urgent tone. Kotori was caught by surprise, Midorima raised his voice at her.

Before she could fully understand what was happening, Midorima suddenly stepped in front of her and it's as if he was covering her with his bigger built. His back was faced towards her and it didn't take long for Kotori to understand what was happening.

It was clear as water when she saw a red stain forming on Midorima's right arm.

"Midorima-kun!" She managed to find her voice.

Midorima was slashed with a knife… by the man in black she and Murasakibara encountered earlier that evening. The mysterious man aimed to stab Midorima straight at the stomach when the sharp shooter suddenly lunged himself in front of Kotori to defend her, but due to his fast reflexes and strength, he was able to change the direction of the knife and attain a less vital damage to his body. But the man was skilled at his job that Midorima failed to completely dodge the attack.

The crowd watched the scene in astonishment. Everyone gasped at the sudden turn of events.

The Goldilocks Doll that Midorima carried around was now on the floor beneath their feet. Stained with blood as few droplets fell down from Midorima's wounded arm.

Midorima didn't mind the growing pain in his right arm. His main objective right now is to get the man away from Kotori as soon as possible. He immediately caught the man's hand and bent his wrist to let him drop the knife on the ground. The knife was effectively dropped with a cling, once it was on the ground, Kotori found the guts to move and kick the weapon away.

"You won't get away with this… prodigies."

Midorima narrowed his eyes, intrigued by the man's words. But suddenly the man in black was going to hit Midorima with his free hand, the grass-haired shooter was able to block this attack with his elbow. But this guy was a professional, he knew his way in and out of this kind of situation. A High School student wouldn't entirely stand a chance. He was about to give Midorima a kick in the stomach, when suddenly, he felt a hand on his neck.

The man was successfully frozen on his spot.

"You caused a lot of trouble, bastard." Aomine said in a threatening voice.

Kotori stared at him in wide eyes. "A-Aomine-kun…"

Aomine shot her a quick glance, checking if she was hurt anywhere, he felt relieved to see that not a single scratch was imprinted on her. He then focused back at the man whose neck was trapped in his hand. "Who the hell are you?"

The man didn't speak.

"State your name." Midorima asked next. Still the man didn't answer and he decided to take off the hat that was covering the man's face.

The mysterious man only chuckled. "Do not underestimate me, you brats!"

Aomine and Midorima were both caught off guard when the man shoved both of them away in one swift movement. He was definitely a professional, no doubt about it. He got away from the Ace and the Shooter and was running towards the exit.

"Hey! You won't get away!" Aomine quickly chased after the man in black, with his speed and amazing footwork, going after the man was a piece of cake. He stood in front of him in success of blocking his path with his larger built.

The man cursed and then he inserted his hand inside his coat to dig up for his weapon.

Kotori watched Aomine face off with the man. But all of a sudden… she was seeing a red ray of light. She narrowed her eyes to take a better look. Indeed, it was a red ray of light vaguely touching the man in black's skin without his notice, and then it shifted towards Aomine. Terror built in Kotori's chest. She immediately ordered her legs to run and this time they finally obeyed her. She sprinted towards Aomine as fast as she could. She thought of nothing but to get Aomine away from the man as soon as possible.

"Daiki-kun!" (*thought it was Aomine-kun? Confirmation needed) She yelled on top of her lungs. Aomine looked back at her incredulously as she suddenly tackled him with all her strength in her petite body. It resulted for the both of them to fall down the ground, Kotori on top of Aomine, covering him with her smaller figure. At the same time, a crash was heard from the glass windows at the ceiling caused by a gunshot.

Kotori shut her eyes tightly. The crowd panicked.

"Yukina! Aomine!" Midorima shouted in alarm.

"Kotori! Daiki!"

"Aominecchi! Yukinacchi!"

"YUKI-CHIN! MINE-CHIN!"

"Aomine-kun! Yukina-san!"

"No! Kotorin! Aomine-kun!"

Kotori heard all of her friends' voices. They all rang in her ears; they sounded very worried and it frightened her. But their overlapping voices were accompanied by a sound that eased her ears.

Aomine's heartbeat.

She could clearly hear Aomine's heartbeat and that was enough to reassure her. He's alive, thank God.

"Kotori."

His manly voice vibrated his chest as he spoke. It made Kotori shot her eyes open.

She didn't feel anything. She waited for the impact of the bullet, but nothing came. She immediately sat up and saw that no blood was coming out of her flesh, and Aomine was unharmed as well.

_But the gunshot…?_

"You little… bitch."

There came a weak voice from their side. Kotori's eyes promptly shifted to where the voice came from… and there, they both saw the man in black down the concrete floor, severely bleeding.

Kotori gasped at the sight. Her body suddenly froze as she saw the bullet in the man's chest.

"You… watch your… damn back…" he coughed and before he drew his last breath, he drenched his hand with his blood and in one swift movement of his hand forward, blood spluttered across Kotori's pale face and stained her uniform.

Then the man lost his life.

… _What does he mean by that?_

Kotori stared at the lifeless man in front of her eyes. She wanted to lunge forward and bring him back to life to ask him what he meant by his last words. But it was over… the man was dead. The laser she saw was not aiming at Aomine; it was targeting the man in black. He was shot… because his identity would be revealed. Her whole body shuddered. She felt something cold on her face, slowly she brought her shaky hands to her cheeks, and she felt the red liquid. She then saw the redness of the blood against her snow white skin.

She suddenly felt it hard to breathe. It was like a knife stabbed her throat. All she could see was the fresh blood on her palms.

For the very first time in her life… she had felt the coldness of the world.

"Kotori, hey. Are you all right?"

Aomine was crouched in front of her, blocking her view from the dead man. "Kotori." He spoke her name again.

But the girl was lost in her own world. She didn't hear anything nor see anyone else. She was looking at her stained hands with a blank face.

This was the very first time Aomine had seen Kotori looking very… tragic. It clenched his chest in an unknown way.

"The ambulance and police are on their way!" Kise informed.

Aomine acknowledge the information from his former teammate, but the girl in front of him was not absorbing anything else from her surroundings.

"No… no…" the girl suddenly started speaking in a soft shaky voice. She wanted to get rid all the bloodstains on her hands. She wanted to clean everything and get rid of the stains. "No… no… no…" the fear on her voice arose as she frantically rubbed her palms to her skirt. But to her sight… the red blood was just spreading and not disappearing.

"NO!" She yelled.

Aomine immediately took off his varsity jacket and wrapped it around Kotori's vulnerable body, "You're gonna be fine, Kotori. I promise… you're gonna be fine." He gently whispered to her ear as he pulled her in a gentle embrace, making her feel safe.

By that moment, Kotori lost consciousness.

* * *

Later on that night…

"_Arigato gozaimashita." _Momoi and Midorima bowed in gratitude at the doctor and excused themselves. They left the doctor's office and went back to the hospital's lobby where the rest of the Generation of Miracles was.

Kise and Kuroko were seated right beside each other, Akashi was leaning at the wall with his arms crossed, Murasakibara was occupying the other bench alone farther from his teammates. Momoi came back with a newly treated Midorima bringing up the rear. He was on his daily school uniform without the coat, revealing his arm wrapped with the bandage.

"Midorimacchi! Momocchi! How did it go?" Kise abruptly stood up from his seat, Kuroko did the same.

A reassuring smile formed on Momoi's lips, "Midorin is fine. The doctor said that the wound was not deep, it didn't hit any sensitive nerves or his bones. The wound would heal in two weeks." She told them.

Kise sighed in relief, "_Yokatta._ You should take it easy in basketball this week, Midorimacchi." He warned the green-haired shooter.

"Shut up. I don't want to hear that from you." Midorima replied harshly.

"H-how could you say that? Everyone here is very worried about you, you know!" Kise argued.

"It is just a scratch. You have nothing to worry about me_, na no dayo. _If there is someone you should worry about… it's Yukina." Midorima said.

By the mention of her name, everyone in the room fell silent. A melancholic atmosphere formed in the lobby as different thoughts occurred in their minds. Murasakibara's aura only darkened even more as he scrunched his hands together. "I should've crushed that man... I should've crushed that man…" he repeatedly whispered to himself.

Kotori was settled in the room next to the clinic where Midorima was taken. She has been unconscious ever since the shooting at the Alumni Homecoming, the doctor said that she lost consciousness because of overflowing strong emotions she all felt at the same time. It was too much for her to handle, and the sight of a dead man and his blood probably made damage to her mentality.

The air was too thick in the lobby. No one said a word to cool down the tension. All heads were down, eyes hidden and devoid of any emotions.

Suddenly, they heard light footsteps hurriedly approaching.

"Midorima-kun!"

All heads shot up, facing the way where the familiar voice came from. Their eyes widened.

"Yukinacchi!" Kise exclaimed.

The girl was running towards them wearing a Touou jacket which looked a like a big dress to her, it covered her blood-stained Seirin uniform but the jersey was unzipped making the dried red liquid still visible. Behind her appeared a taller figure, who wore a dark blue t-shirt, the one who lent Kotori the huge jacket.

Kotori halted before the tall shooting guard of Shutoku, her eyes immediately falling upon the covered wound of his right arm. "How is it…?" guilt was written all over her beautiful face.

Midorima was stunned for a moment. Her usual cheerful, calm face… it was gone.

"Is it bad?" She inquired desperately.

Midorima couldn't describe what he was feeling inside. Why did it seem like it was crushing him when he saw her looking at him with that face? That man responsible for the ruckus at the event was _lucky _that he was dead. The shooter could think of many horrible things to give him the worst luck ever.

"I'm sorry… if I was just paying attention earlier. This wouldn't have to happen to you." Kotori said in pure guilt. "_Honto ni gomenasai, _Midorima-kun…"

"Yukina-san…" Kuroko looked at her kindheartedly.

Aomine could only groan inside. It was clear… the girl was definitely blaming herself for all that has happened.

"Midorima-kun got hurt because of me…" Kotori said in the saddest tone they had heard her spoken.

It was pissing Midorima off. "_Baka onna._" he said and placed a hand on top of her head to starkly ruffle her hair.

Kise's jaw dropped, shocked of Midorima's indecent actions to the delicate girl. "Ah! Midorimacchi!"

"This is just a scratch. Don't you dare look down on me, Yukina Kotori." Midorima said as he continued distressing her hair.

"But, it shouldn't be you… I should be the one—" Kotori spoke but was immediately cut with a voice that overpowered her.

"Shut up. Blaming yourself won't help my wound to heal less than two weeks. It cannot undo what's done. It won't mend my Goldi-chan's broken arm. Your thoughts are the dumbest of the dumbest." Midorima's hair-ruffling technique took it to a higher level.

"Th-that hurts, Midorima-kun." Kotori complained.

"And…" Midorima finally stopped his maltreatment of her ebony hair, his stern face turned to something a little bit… gentle. For the very first time. "It is men's duty to protect women." He said in a soft gentle voice to make sure that she's the only one to hear his heroic words.

Kotori blinked and her face flushed into deep crimson.

"I didn't know you were such a gentleman, Midorin." Satsuki heard the whole thing since she discreetly eavesdropped to what Midorima whispered to Kotori.

Midorima's eye twitched. He didn't notice how close Satsuki was to them. "_Oi_, Momoi—"

"Well said, Midorima-kun. I thought you were only going to insult Yukina-san." Kuroko was also there actually, right beside Momoi so he definitely heard what Midorima said.

"Kuroko, Momoi, you both have the nerves to eavesdrop—" Midorima was about to give them a piece of his mind when Momoi ignored him all the way and checked on Kotori.

"Are you all right now, Kotorin? Did that man touch you or anything? Scratches? Bruises?" Momoi began inspecting Kotori's body, "I'd definitely kill him if I see a scratch on your fair skin!"

"I'm fine, Satsu-chan. I'm not hurt anywhere, I promise. Midorima-kun covered for me back there. Plus, the man is already dead." Kotori said to her best friend to ease her worries.

"Oh, thank God. You gave me a heart attack back there when you suddenly ran after Aomine-kun. I thought the gun hit you! I was really worried. Also, are you sure you should be up now?" Satsuki said.

"Sorry for worrying you, Satsu-chan. I really am fine now." Kotori said and then she turned to the others and bowed her head, "I'm very sorry for causing you all trouble."

Kise scowled, "What are you saying, Yukinacchi? You're no trouble to us. What makes you think about that?"

"Kise-kun is right, Yukina-san. We're all here because we care about you. Please, stop thinking that you are a hindrance to all of us." Kuroko spoke to her.

"Tetsuya-kun…" her features softened upon feeling how they all sincerely cared about her. She wasn't a member of the Generation of Miracles, but everyone treated her like one. But she felt that she didn't deserve that kind of treatment. She was really lucky to have friends like them.

"Kotori," Akashi finally spoke and approached her. "The police are investigating the background of the man, for the meantime, the body of the dead man is in the autopsy. We'll attain the information tomorrow at best or the day after."

"I see…" Kotori replied, Aomine gave her a suspicious look.

"Will you be staying at the hospital, Yukina-san? Or will you go back home? I've already informed the coach and Hyuga-san of your condition just now." Kuroko stated as he showed his phone.

"Oh? You told them already? Well… I'll be heading back home since I have called my mother." Kotori sweat-dropped.

"Yeah. And your phone won't stop vibrating from all the messages of your coach." Aomine walked towards her and gave back her phone.

Kotori shyly accepted her phone from Aomine and she kept her gaze away from him as much as possible. She muttered a soft "thank you" to the indigo-haired power forward and then looked at her screen to only see her coach's caller ID. She answered the call, "Good evening, Riko-senpai."

"_Don't 'good evening, Riko-senpai'(imitating Kotori's calm voice) me! Kuroko-kun just informed me that you were attacked at your Alumni Homecoming! Where are you right now? I'm going straight there to check on you and make sure that you are all right!"_

Riko's voice can be clearly heard by everyone from the phone despite it's not activated on loudspeaker. Kotori had to move her ears away to save her eardrums from bleeding, she stifled an unsure laugh, "I was not hurt, Riko-senpai. Nothing bad happened to me since Midorima-kun was there to save me. He was the one who got stabbed in my place…"

Kise smirked at Midorima, "Score there, Midorimacchi." He teased.

Midorima glared daggers at Kise.

"_And what's this I heard about that you fainted?" _Riko demanded in a motherly tone.

"Oh—umm… I think I was just shocked that the man was shot…?" Kotori answered unsurely.

"_WHAT?! HE WAS SHOT RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU? _Just what in the world happened there?" Riko's voice got louder.

Kotori flinched, "It's a long story… I'll tell everything to you when I get back at the training camp tomorrow, okay? Please, don't worry about me. I'm perfectly fine. Just focus on the camp... that's what's more important. By the way, I left a new stock of energy drinks at the kitchen, have you found it? There's also yogurt at the fridge, I made them earlier from fresh fruits. Oh, and please remind Kagami-kun to follow the new exercise table I made for him—"

Suddenly, her mobile was snatched from her grasp by none other than the prominent Aomine Daiki, "Yukina will talk to you tomorrow. _Ja_." He said as pushed the end call button. He threw the phone back to the girl and shot her a glare, "I'll walk you home so you can rest."

Kotori was caught by surprise, "E-eh? You don't have to do that, Aomine-kun. I'll be fine by myself so—"

"I leave Kotori in your hands then, Daiki. Get her home safely." Akashi interjected.

"Yeah. Leave it to me, Akashi." Aomine answered.

Kotori panicked and she gave Akashi one of her innocent dreadful glares implying the '_what do you think you're doing, Seijuro-kun?!' _message.

Akashi didn't mind her.

"We're counting on you, Aomine-kun. But let me remind you that Kotorin is a well-refined lady so you better behave yourself, do you get me?" Satsuki gave him a piece of her mind. She can be really overprotective of her best friend since Kotori was always kind to anyone. _Anyone. _May it be the worst person in the whole world! The girl's asset can become a weakness since many people tend to abuse Kotori's kind heart. Aomine is not excused to that.

"You're really annoying, Satsuki." Aomine groaned and then he turned back to Kotori, "I'm walking you home. Don't complain. It's late and it's dangerous for kids to walk home alone at night."

Kotori grimaced, "Kid? I am not a child anymore and I am capable of taking care of myself, Aomine-kun."

"Whatever. Someone is taking you home, and that will be me." Aomine said.

"Come on, Yukinacchi. Do this for all of us, please? Let us all feel assured that you're safe after all what has happened." Kise said.

Kotori looked at him, "Kise-kun… all right," she couldn't believe it. She agreed to let Aomine walk her home. Will she regret this decision? Maybe a hundred percent she will. But then she felt that something wasn't right. Something was missing—no, someone was missing.

"Where is Mu-chan?" she asked promptly.

Kise and Satsuki suddenly looked uncertain, the rest didn't show emotions but it seemed they were worried as well, "He's over there by himself." The blond pointed at the farthest bench of the lobby.

Kotori quickly saw him seated at the edge of the bench all alone emitting an unapproachable energy. She bit her lower lip uncertainly.

"You're the only one who can calm him down, Kotorin. He's been like that since you lost consciousness. Mukkun was really angry that he caused a scene at the event… it was really hard to restrain him but we were lucky that Akashi-kun was there to calm him down. But, it cannot change that Mukkun is still angry." Satsuki said concernedly.

Kotori nodded, "I'll talk to him." Then she began walking towards Murasakibara.

The rest of the Generation of Miracles was left at the middle of the lobby, all eyes focused at Kotori as she approached the giant at the far corner.

Kuroko suddenly appeared beside Aomine, "Yukina-san is the Manager of Seirin's basketball club. We've been in the same class during first year and third year in Teiko. She's one of the most refined ladies I met in my entire life that's why I need Aomine-kun to treat her gently." He said straightly without a buckle. "I'll drop an atomic bomb on your basketball shoes if you try something inappropriate to her."

Aomine chuckled as he scratched the back of his head, "What the heck? Also you, Tetsu? Ugh, give me a break."

To be continued.

* * *

**a/n:**

I am so sorry for hurting you, Shin-chan! TT-TT I apologize in advance to those characters I plan to _hurt and harm _in the future chapters. Ohohoho.

Welcome to the story, Aomine Daiki-sama!

As always, please read and review! It is much appreciated by this author. :)

See you at the next chapter! It's already done and it would be posted soon.

**Vocabulary**

**Na no dayo- Midorima's catchphrase**

**Yokatta- Thank God**

**Honto ni gomenasai- I'm very sorry**

**Baka onna- idiotic girl**

**Ja- later**


	4. Chapter 4: Life for a Life

**a/n:**

Thank you so much for all the reviews, my forever lovely readers and reviewers. :) Tomorrow is Father's Day(here in my country. But if we have different time zones or something then yea)! Yay!

As always, I would always like to thank **MartiaLae **for being my loyal beta for this story. Of course, **In Dein Herz **as well for helping me finish the plot of the story!

So with no further ado, I present to you chapter 4.

Oh! But before that!

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN KUROKO NO BASUKE. I JUST LOVE MIDORIMA SHINTARO! **

* * *

**Chapter 4: Life for a life**

"Mu-chan."

Yukina Kotori, still in Aomine's Touou Jacket, stood in front of the seated Giant Center of the Generation of Miracles. His head was down and his purple hair brought dark shadows to cover his infuriated face. It was a painful sight to see the lazy childish Murasakibara become so inflamed at such matters outside basketball.

"…Mu-chan," she called once more when it appeared as if Murasakibara didn't hear her call his name nor notice her presence.

'_You're the only one who can calm him down, Kotorin. He's been like that since you lost consciousness. Mukkun was really angry that he caused a scene at the event… it was really hard to restrain him but we were lucky that Akashi-kun was there to calm him down. But, it cannot change that Mukkun is still angry.'_

Momoi's voice echoed in Kotori's mind. The bitter feeling inside her chest only rose and it got worse when she could see how dark Murasakibara was.

"…crush him. Should've crushed him…"

She heard him whispering in a low hoarse voice.

Kotori bit her lower lip to suppress her feelings. She zipped up Aomine's jacket to completely cover her blood-stained uniform, so Murasakibara wouldn't see it. This time she placed a hand on Murasakibara's shoulder and called for his name in the sweetest way she could manage, "So this is where you are, Mu-chan. It's getting late, you know? We should be going home."

Murasakibara's head slowly rose up, narrow purple eyes meeting beautiful black ones. His tensed features instantly softened as he spoke her name in a surprised tone, "Yuki-chin…"

"What are you doing here all alone? Everyone's waiting for you. We're about to leave." Kotori said.

Murasakibara suddenly stood up, showing his enormous height, "How are you feeling now? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Kotori smiled, "I am not hurt anywhere, Mu-chan. I'm perfectly fine, look. I may be small but I'm a grown-up, I can be tough." She said, "And… Midorima-kun was there to defend me from the bad guy. He really did his best to protect me so I owe him my life."

"Mido-chin did his best to protect you?" Murasakibara blinked.

"Yes, he did." Kotori replied.

"That was his best? But he still got stabbed right?" Murasakibara said.

"Let's say that Midorima-kun was not that prepared." Kotori giggled softly, "But he really did a great job. Look at me, I am not harmed. Not a single hair, see?"

Murasakibara eyed her from head to toe, relieved to see that her fair skin was unscratched. But then he tilted his head in confusion, "Is Yuki-chin wearing anything under your jacket?"

"E-eh?" Kotori was shocked at Murasakibara's unexpected question, "O-of course, I'm still wearing my uniform. What makes you say that?"

"Because Yuki-chin is so little, Mine-chin's jacket looks like a dress to you~" the giant commented.

Kotori took a look at herself. Now that Murasakibara mentioned it, Aomine's varsity jacket was a dress for her. It covered her neck down to the above of her knees, entirely covering her skirt, making it appear like she was only wearing the bulky jacket. She suddenly blushed.

"Yuki-chin is so little~" Murasakibara repeated. "Try wearing my varsity jacket sometimes~ it will look like a gown!"

"I'd be happy to wear Mu-chan's varsity jacket. Only if you'll stop teasing me about my height." She said.

"When did I ever tease Yuki-chin about your height?" he asked innocently like a child.

Kotori giggled again, "_Hai, hai. _Let's go now, everyone's waiting for us. Also, I can't wait to get home to eat all my vanilla candies." She said in an attempt to remind him about his sweets, which went pretty successful since Murasakibara suddenly ran back to where Akashi and the others are to inquire about his bag of sweets. A huge lump disappeared in her throat as she saw Murasakibara get back to his old self. She only hoped he forgets everything about the Alumni Homecoming soon.

Because for her… she wanted to get rid of every memory she could remember at the event.

.

.

.

Everyone was gathered at the Hospital entrance, readying to go back to their respective homes. It was decided that Kuroko, Momoi and Murasakibara walk home together, Kise and Midorima, and Aomine and Yukina. Akashi appeared to have some business left to do so he told them that he won't be walking home with any of them. Of course, Kotori silently pleaded for him to join her and Aomine since his house is just a couple of blocks away from hers. But then she was reminded that Akashi transferred to his aunt's place at the beginning of the school year because it was nearer to Rakuzan Gakou.

What are the odds?

They all parted ways and it was a start of another challenge for dear Kotori.

.

.

.

Kise Ryota stretched his long arms in the air and twisted his neck to release the stress of his body, "We had a long night tonight huh, Midorimacchi."

"Why am I walking with you?" Midorima said.

Kise was a little bit offended but then answered Midorima's sarcastic question, "Because we happen to have the same way home from the Hospital." He reasoned out. "_Nee, _Midorimacchi is just throwing all his irritation at me, isn't he? You're pissed that your coach didn't allow you to go back to your training camp because of your wound." Then a wicked smirk formed on his handsome face, "Or is it that you're pissed because Aominecchi is walking Yukinacchi home?"

"It is none of my concern whom she walks home with." Midorima said.

"Keh, you're just saying that. Can't you see yourself earlier at the lobby? When Aominecchi said that he'll walk her home it's like you want to strangle him and bury him alive." Kise stated in an as-a-matter-of-factly tone.

Midorima didn't say anything. He just walked ahead of the blond in an attempt to leave him alone.

Kise caught up to him, "Hey, I'm just saying what I saw earlier. You don't have to be so shy." He smirked.

"Who are you calling shy?" Midorima shot him a dreadful glare.

Kise was definitely enjoying this. He's getting the reactions he wanted to see from Midorima.

"Midorimacchi is jealous~" Kise teased.

"Die." Midorima countered promptly.

"You know that even if you leave me, I'll still be here. We have the same way home after all." Kise laughed, "Midorimacchi is jealous! Jealous! Jealous!"

If it weren't for Midorima's wound at his right arm, he could sucker punch him in the face. He meant it.

Noticing Midorima's rising irritation, Kise decided to settle down a little bit. He still didn't want to get hurt, after all. A brief silence occurred between them, but he decided to break the ice in just a few seconds. "It was really a good thing that Yukinacchi can calm Murasakibaracchi from everything that has happened there. He really rampaged when she lost consciousness and it was hard to restrain him, it was the first time that he even didn't listen to Akashicchi." He stated, "It was really surprising to see him lose control like that. It's out of the basketball courts."

"Murasakibara may be childish, but he possesses a shady personality." Midorima fed back.

"Yeah. He's quite scary at times." Kise commented. "When it comes to Yukinacchi, he can really lose control."

"Well, he treated Yukina as his elder sister. She was the one who can completely understand him, and being Akashi's childhood friend also helped her gain authority over Murasakibara. She is important to him." Midorima said.

Kise was astounded. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped, "Y-y-you know about that?!" he shouted.

Midorima shot him a superior side glance, "It's obvious. I'm not surprised that an idiot like you does not know something like that."

Kise defended his pride, "Of course, I know things like that! You're the ignorant one here, Midorimacchi. You don't know about Momoicchi's _obvious_ feelings for Kurokocchi but you know about Murasakibaracchi and Yukinacchi's bond!" he pointed a finger.

"She was my classmate for one year. During second year middle school." Midorima answered.

"Only for one year! But Momoicchi is our club manager for three years!" Kise interjected, "But you were oblivious of her feelings for Kurokocchi until the game between Seirin and Touou in the playoffs for the Inter High!" and then a very brilliant thought occurred in his precious mind. He walked ahead of Midorima and blocked his path. A mischievous smirk formed on his lips as he stared intently at the green-haired shooting guard.

"You've been really observing Yukinacchi so much, haven't you?"

Midorima stared back at him in a poker-face. "Get out of the way."

Kise laughed heartily. "I told you, Midorimacchi! You don't have to be so shy! If you continue that, Yukinacchi is going to be taken away."

"Move away!" Midorima snapped and pushed Kise away to walk ahead of him.

Kise couldn't stop laughing. He just proved something he had investigated since Middle School. Oh, how joyous he felt!

_Well… indeed, Midorimacchi can be less ignorant when it comes to Yukinacchi._

Just as he was about to follow the Shutoku Shooting Guard, he suddenly saw Midorima lamely bump into a street light. Instead of rushing towards the green-haired player, he clutched his sides due to extreme laughter. "HAHAHAHAHA! You're so uncool Midorimacchi!"

Well… Midorima's Goldi-chan was not with him by the moment.

* * *

Aomine groaned inwardly for the umpteenth time. The girl whom he was tasked to walk home safely was very busy looking at the golden-haired doll in her hands. He could only glare at her. "Just what the heck is that?"

The Ace saw her jump slightly at his abrupt voice crashing the ice of silence between them. He arched a brow. Why was she so nervous? Didn't she feel safe with him?

"I-it belongs to Midorima-kun… I wanted to fix this for him since Goldi-chan is an important lucky item." Kotori replied softly.

Aomine snorted, "Goldi-chan?"

"Midorima-kun calls her that." Kotori replied, trying to ignore the humor.

"A weird item for a weird guy. He's still the same." He commented.

Kotori shot him a look, "He's not weird. He's just…" she paused, finding an appropriate word as Aomine looked back at her patiently waiting for what she had in mind to defend the Horoscope freak. "…different." She finally said.

"Really? To me he's just weird." Aomine answered, not really agreeing with Kotori's argument. "Why don't you just let him fix that Goldi-chan on his own? He was the one who stepped on its arm when it was down the floor. Besides, if that really is his lucky item, he wouldn't be stab—" he suddenly stopped there. He knew he shouldn't mention that to her again. What was with him today anyways? Since when did he start giving a fuck about Midorima and his weird habits about his lucky items?

Kotori smiled sadly as she looked down at the Goldilocks doll at her hands, "It's because he stepped on this doll when he was defending me… it was a lucky item for me too… since Midorima-kun was there to save me. If it weren't for him then I wouldn't be walking with Aomine-kun right now. I owe him my life."

Aomine was silenced for a moment. He saw anew the guilt on her eyes, and it was pissing him off. But what he couldn't understand more was he's more pissed when she talks about Midorima. And then there was this conversation they had at the hospital when she finally regained consciousness. He never thought he'd be so troubled by this girl.

.

_Flashback._

_Aomine was seated on a chair by the edge of the hospital bed where Kotori was laid unconscious. His dark blue eyes stared at her newly cleaned face, earlier it was stained by red blood, which ruined the purity of her features. He had never seen her look so tragic before… He hated the fact that her image of being so frightened along with the bastard's blood on her face would be forever stored in his memory. But now… it was giving him warmth when he saw the peaceful look on her face as she slept. And he had never seen someone look so… cute wearing his large varsity jacket._

_Who would ever want to harm a girl like her? _

_She was very angelic. Even if hated to admit it, she was indeed the kindest person he had ever met in his entire life. _

_But despite that kindness... some bastard still tried to hurt her. The nerve. _

_He fisted his hands. Kotori was unconscious because of him. Because of his anger at the scum, he turned her into something like this. (*confusing, revise)_

_He then noticed her fingers twitching. "Yukina?"_

_Slowly, Kotori's beautiful eyes opened. It soon met Aomine's eyes. She suddenly sat up from her bed and surveyed her surroundings._

_Aomine, obviously reading what was in her mind, said to her, "We're at the hospital. You were out cold for almost two hours."_

_Kotori massaged her temples, trying to recall what had happened earlier. It came to her in just a few second by the help of the blood stain on her uniform. _

"_I'm going to call the doctor." Aomine stood from his chair, but then all of a sudden, he felt a light tug at the back of his shirt. He looked back and saw that it was Kotori's hand clutching his shirt._

_Kotori looked directly into his eyes with a pleading gape, "Please… don't leave me alone…" Aomine then felt the shivering of her hand._

"_All right. I won't go anywhere." Aomine said and Kotori retrieved her hand. She looked down her lap and muttered a sincere, "Thank you."_

_Aomine sat back down on his chair, unsure of what to do at times like this. It was rare to see Kotori look so gloomy. She was always the one to cheer them up whenever the Teiko basketball club faced problems when they were in Middle School. They had never seen her wear something else different from a smile. "We already informed your parents about your situation. Your mother said she will return tonight, and she said that you have to come home."_

_Kotori then began reaching for her pockets. She seemed to be looking for something but it appeared she wasn't able to find it. She gave Aomine a look, a faint blush forming on her white cheeks, "Aomine-kun... do you happen to know where my phone is?" she asked._

_Aomine felt his heart skip a beat. 'Ugh, what the hell?' he thought to himself as he tried to erase the sudden thought of how adorable she looked with that blush. Add his up his large jacket on her small body. "It's here. We used it earlier to contact your parents." He said to her coolly and handed her the phone. _

"_Sorry for the trouble." She bowed as she took her cell phone from his hands, she then began contacting her mother._

_Aomine couldn't help but notice the shakiness of her body. She was still frightened. _

_After a few seconds, Kotori's mother picked up, he listened to their short conversation. _

"_I'm fine, okaa-san. I'm at the hospital with Aomine-kun…"_

"…_.."_

"_No. Nothing happened to me, I'm not hurt anywhere. Please, you don't have to cancel your business meeting, I know it's important. I can handle myself now."_

_Aomine arched a brow. How could she say that despite being very frightened? Kotori was very close to her parents as far as he could remember. If there's anyone who could comfort her now, it would be her mother or father at best._

"…"

"… _Oh, yes. I'm very sorry, okaa-san. I will go home and wait for you. Thank you very much…"_

"…_."_

"_It's all thanks to Shintaro-kun. He protected me…" and then she paused. Aomine gave her a confused stare. "Okaa-n, I will call you back later. I love you. Be careful on your way home." She turned back to Aomine, "Where is Shintaro-kun?" she desperately asked._

_Aomine frowned, 'Shintaro-kun?' he thought to himself._

"_Where is he, Aomine-kun? I need to see Shintaro-kun." She begged, "Please."_

_Why was Aomine suddenly feeling annoyed? "He's probably being treated at the clinic." _

_Kotori immediately went down the bed, "Bring me to him, please… I have to see how he's doing." _

_Aomine tried to ignore all the unknown annoyance he was suddenly feeling. "Follow me then." He avoided her gaze and led her out of the room. She was obediently following him like a little kid, and she definitely looked like a little kid right behind him comparing with his towering height. After some walking, they arrived at the corridor where all his former teammates were. _

_Kotori suddenly ran past him and straightly went to the tall green-haired Shutoku player._

_He placed his hands in his pocket. _

'_Shintaro-kun.' Her voice echoed in his mind. _

_Aomine scoffed. 'The hell. I don't care if she calls him Shintaro.' He thought to himself._

_._

Aomine kicked a can standing on his way. He kicked it so _hard _that it was deformed upon entering the trashcan.

Kotori was caught by surprise. "A-aomine-kun? What's wrong?"

_And she calls me the same way Satsuki does. Shit. _He thought exasperatedly. What was wrong with him? He also wanted to ask that question to himself.

"Nothing." He answered uncaringly. Yes, nothing was wrong. NOTHING!

"Umm…"

"What?"

Kotori flinched at the sudden raise of voice. It made her a little hesitant to speak her mind.

'_Kotorin is a well-refined lady so you have to behave yourself, Aomine-kun!'_

Satsuki appeared as a flashback in his mind. It made him scowl inwardly. "Sorry. Go on." He told her in his low voice.

"Aomine-kun also heard what the man said before he died, right…?" Kotori said softly as she looked down her feet. "You heard what he said to the both of us…"

Of course, Aomine heard it. And he would definitely not forget. The bastard had the nerve to threaten them just as when he was about to die. He also couldn't forget how harsh the bastard talked to her… calling her a 'bitch'. It was unforgivable.

You watch your damn backs.

That was what the dead man told them.

"What do you think does he mean by his last words?" Kotori asked worriedly. "I… really have a bad feeling about this, Aomine-kun."

"Why? Are you scared? He's already dead, he won't be able to harm you." Aomine stated.

"But… someone took him down. That's what they usually do when a murderer or a spy tasked to do a certain work fails his mission. He works with someone else…" Kotori reasoned out.

"You know what, you're overthinking things. The police are responsible to take care of these things. It's not your responsibility." Aomine shrugged his shoulders, "You should stop worrying too much. You're already too stressed out being Seirin's manager."

Kotori clenched the Goldilocks doll closer to her chest, indicating her worries. "But… I'm scared."

Aomine looked back at her. She looked so fragile. She looked so delicate. He had always seen her as a strong girl, she was always good at handling problems on her own. But this… it was definitely tearing her apart.

He felt like he wanted to… protect her.

Before he could say anything else, she suddenly continued her last words.

"I'm scared that—I'm scared that somebody else could get hurt again. Midorima-kun was attacked… and that man warned us to watch our backs. Which means that there's a possibility for another attack again. Anybody could get hurt." She was obviously panicking inside but maintained that calm demeanor.

"You were the one that the man planned to stab in the first place, Yukina. Midorima covered for you. If there's someone you should worry about, it's yourself." Aomine said and placed a hand on her slender shoulders. They both halted at their steps and he made her face him. "That's why you're the one who should be careful. You're always focused on your team—" he hated to admit that Kagami was damn lucky to have her whole attention with his trainings and such, "You tend to forget about yourself."

Kotori seemed to find it hard to talk back to him. She always did when he was right in front of her. What more if this close?

"So if you feel anything wrong… I updated my e-mail address in your phone. You have to definitely mail me." Aomine said. "If you have to go home late, tell it to me so I can walk you home." He then let her go and walked ahead with his hands inside his pockets. He could picture himself looking so _cool._ Add his jacket being worn by the girl.

"_Doushite?" _Kotori suddenly asked from behind him. Aomine halted on his tracks. "Why is… Aomine-kun willing to do that for me? You know that you don't have to do that… I don't want to be a hindrance—"

"Because I owe you my life." He answered simply. For crying out loud, she ran all the way to him to cover him from the bullet. So… he'd definitely do something—anything to pay her back for saving his life back there.

It struck Kotori on her spot. Unable to move, unable to talk, unable to do anything.

Aomine hid a bold smirk. Her flushed face was priceless. To make her come back to reality, he told her something that would definitely redden her face more.

"By the way, you look like you're naked under my jacket." He said. "But I must say that _my _varsity jacket suits you more."

There came the crimson shades of unknown red all over her face. "A-Aomine-kun!"

Aomine could only chuckle, "Let's go. We have to get you home now before Satsuki calls me nonstop to know how you're doing."

Without saying anything, he heard light footsteps from behind him catching up with him. He gave her a quick glance. She was still as red as tomato. Yes, he definitely owed his life to a girl who stood 157cm tall.

And then an unexpected thought ruined everything for him,

He owed her his life.

She owed her life to _Shintaro-kun. _Just remembering how Kotori called Midorima by his first name made a vein appear on his head.

Therefore, Aomine Daiki owed his life to _Shintaro-kun._

_Oh, shit. _

To be continued.

* * *

**a/n:**

That's it for Chapter 4, folks! And I do notice that you all like sweet OC with Midorima... hmmmm. Oh well. There's another MidoKoto scene in the next chapter~ Hihihi. MidoKoto...to tell you guys the truth, that pairing is my beta's OTP.

Though, initially this was an AomineOC story.

But as the story progresses, it's an AomineOC and MidorimaOC story. XD It depends on what I plan it to be.

Oh well!

Catch up the next one! It's already done and it's just waiting to be published.

Read and Review, please! :) It is much appreciated by this author.

**Vocabulary**

**Okaa-sama- honorable mother**

**Doushite- why**


	5. Chapter 5: Back at the Camp

**a/n:**

Okayyy. Favorites and alerts are adding up! Yehey! Thank you so much!

As always, I would like to thank **MartiaLae** for being my beta for this story. Also to **naomicchi **who helped me develop the entire plot. I love you, my friends!

I hereby present you all chapter 5. :)

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own KnB. *cries***

* * *

**Chapter 5: Back at the Camp**

The sound of the sea gave a soothing feeling for Kotori as she was on her way to the cottage where the team was currently staying in. The cozy breeze brushed her snow-white skin and her wavy hair danced along to its direction. The sun was just about to rise up but she was as if already in an attitude of a person who's working hard in the middle of the day despite that she was on an 'enjoy-your-last-day-of-summer' getup. Her attire for the day was a plain long blue green summer dress with a white bolero, which her mother had insisted for her to wear. She reasoned that the clothing was not appropriate for the place she was going to but her mother begged her to wear it because it was a present from her aunt and they were looking forward to see her in that dress. Of course, she wouldn't be able to wear it even if their destination was the beach. She's the basketball club manager, and they didn't go to the beach for a vacation. But since her mother was crying so much last night due to extreme worries, she decided to comply with her simple request and wore the summer dress.

As she was nearing the cottage, she gave her wrist a brief glance to check her wristwatch. _6:45. _It was about time for the boys to wake up and eat breakfast.

That's why in her hands was a huge basket containing special breakfast she made with her mother earlier this morning. Made with love, passion, and joy. This was the best way she could think of to calm them down upon hearing the outrageous story of her life at the Teiko Alumni Homecoming celebration. Tons of text messages were being received by her phone from the team last night. Just when she was about to reply on their mails, her mobile had run out of battery that she had to charge. But as she was waiting for her phone to complete charging, she fell asleep and woke up the next morning. All the messages were left hanging. She could sense that Kuroko had definitely told them the certain happenings, and besides, even if he wouldn't narrate it to them Coach Riko will still force him to spit the whole thing out.

She was a couple of blocks away from the cottage when she began hearing footsteps not far behind her. She took a glance to be cautious and was relieved to see that it was no stranger to her eyes. Her feet halted on her steps and she turned to greet the person.

"Midorima-kun." she waved a demure hand. Her eyes immediately trailed down to his right arm, but this time, he was wearing his orange Shutoku jacket to cover his bandaged wound. Then what caught her gaze next was the little pink stuffed pig on his left hand.

The green-haired shooting guard didn't answer, but his gaze was fixed at her. He didn't show it but he gave her a brief head-to-toe analysis. It was rare to see Kotori wear a dress. And what in the world was she thinking wearing something like that? Her team was on training not on vacation, just like his team. Another was it was only sunrise—which means she had been walking on her own down the cottage since private or public cars aren't allowed to enter the area just before the sun rises.

A girl like her… walking in the darkness of dawn… wearing a dress to make her so… dazzling.

Midorima grimaced secretly at his thought. He hated to admit that he found her quite dazzling at her attire. She was lucky that he saw her come out of her family's car. He just stayed on low profile as he kept an eye on her while walking. This was a beach, anyone could be hiding in a bush or whatever. Some perverted surfers might suddenly appear and hit on her.

It's not like it was his responsibility to defend her again. He didn't care of what she wears, where she goes, or who she hangs out with. He just happened to be nearby in case something—rather someone troubles her.

They were now walking side by side. Kotori was the first to speak again, "How's your wound, Midorima-kun? Are you sure that you can go back training at once?" she asked concernedly.

"Of course. I wouldn't be here if I know I can't train today." Midorima replied, "And I already told you… stop underestimating my capabilities. Today's lucky item is a stuffed piglet. The Cancer's luckiness rank is number two. I follow fate so I am certain that my wound will heal in no time."

Indeed, Midorima was kind of weird. Oops, she meant _different. _Not weird. Just different.

"I do hope that it completely heals soon. I wouldn't want Midorima-kun to be benched during the Winter Cup." Kotori said.

"Who's going to be benched? Wounded or not, I will not be benched and I will crush every team in the Winter Cup." Midorima countered.

"As expected of Midorima-kun. Of course, no one will be able to stop you," Kotori graced a small smile on her pinkish lips, "So… will you let me…" she paused for a moment and stood in front of Midorima to block his path. "Will you let me take care of you?"

Midorima's eyes slightly widened, his face didn't match his emotions as always.

Silence occurred as they both stared back at each other.

3… 2… 1… He finally shattered the ice.

"_Nani?" _ he demanded with a little bit irritated voice.

Kotori was determined with her offer. No matter how much her friends would tell her over and over to stop blaming herself for what had happened to Midorima there was no way that she'd be convinced that it wasn't entirely her fault. He still got hurt because he protected her from the killer. She owed him her life that's why she was willing to do anything to help him. That's that. "You threw yourself in front of me when I didn't realize that I was going to be stabbed. I want to repay you for saving my life…"

"You don't have to do such things for me. You're not obliged to." Midorima said and walked pass her.

Still, the girl was undeterred, "It's not out of obligation." She spoke as she followed him down the path, "I want to take care of Midorima-kun… to make sure that the wound completely heals and does not leave a scar."

Despite all of that, Midorima still refused. "You don't have to take care of me. I can look out on this wound on my own." All hail his pride.

He suddenly felt a soft touch on his left arm which made him halt on his steps. The smaller figure attained a slightly surprised glance from him, green eyes met black orbs. It took him a moment to realize that it was her light hands grasping delicately his uninjured arm.

"_Onegai, _Midorima-kun…"

He noticed the sudden change on her voice.

"Please… let me take care of you. That's the only thing I could do… to thank you for taking the danger for me."

A gentle breeze touched both their skins as they intently stared at each other's eyes. Kotori waited patiently for Midorima's answer but the green-haired lad didn't seem interested in saying anything. He was captivated—mesmerized by an angel in front of him. He was too entranced to say anything at all.

Wait, what?

Did he just think that he was mesmerized by an angel?

Midorima looked away to save his composure. He pushed his glasses up with his index finger and cleared his throat. Before he or she could say anything, a third voice interrupted the moment.

"Why don't you just say yes, Shin-chan?"

They both turned to the owner of the voice, Midorima didn't have to wonder who it was and all he felt was agitation.

"Who could refuse to such a cute lady? You don't have to be so shy, you know." It was Shutoku's point guard, Takao Kazunari. He casually approached the two former Teiko schoolmates. "If you don't want it, then Kotori-san can take care of me." He gave the tsundere a playful smirk as a brow arched.

Midorima glared at his teammate. His lips _nearly _twitched.

Kotori blinked innocently, completely unaware that Takao was hitting on her. "Oh," she bowed and greeted politely, "_Ohayo gozaimasu, _Takao-san."

So, when Midorima had a mindset that he would get involved if someone troubled Kotori this morning—because he was _only _nearby, no other reason than that—he never thought that that 'someone' who'd take the risk on flirting with the elegant lady would be his very own teammate. Before he could strangle Takao to death, he turned to the Seirin manager and reluctantly he said the words, "I'll be in your care then."

Kotori looked up to him with a flabbergasted gape, "Midorima-kun?"

"I said you can take care of me. Now go back to your team, I don't need you until the end of training."

Kotori beamed in delight, a faint blush forming on her cheeks whenever she felt blissful. "_Hai. _Thank you very much, Midorima-kun. I'll do my best."

Midorima swiftly averted his eyes, avoiding any unnecessary images that would disrupt his composure again. What the heck was she doing to him?

"I'll excuse myself then. _Gokigen yo_." She bowed once more and then she left the two Shutoku players to themselves. Midorima subtly trailed her with his eye until she got inside the cottage and then he felt an elbow on his ribs.

"You sure you can participate in practice today? Coach is gonna kill you if you slow the team down because of your wound. We're up against Seirin later." Takao said.

"It's none of your business." Midorima replied coldly and walked away.

Takao followed him, "So _mean." _He pouted sarcastically.

"You're annoying, Takao. Shut up." Midorima said.

"I'm worried about you and this is all I get? It's just sunrise and you're already so grumpy." Takao said and narrowed his hawk eyes teasingly, "Come on. Don't feel so bad. Kotori-san didn't even notice that I was flirting with her."

Midorima deadpanned. One more… just one more word from Takao then he'll—

"Ah~ I feel so refreshed after jogging!" Takao exclaimed, "Seeing Kotori-san in a blue Summer dress, I guess this means a start of a lucky day!"

Midorima kept on walking. It was not worth to pay attention to.

"Come on, you have to admit that she looks so beautiful."

Silence.

"So you have to watch out. She's surrounded by guys all around. Dear Kotori-san is in danger."

And then Takao received the most dreadful glare he had ever seen in his life.

* * *

"KOTORI!"

Coach Aida Riko's booming voice shattered the whole cottage as she stood in front of the maiden in blue summer dress. It was 6:50 am in the morning and she didn't care if any sleeping person is jolted out of sleep because of her early outrage. "Why are you here?" her hands settled on her hips and her eyes narrowed at the elegant lady before her.

Kotori wore a calm smile, not even stirred by Riko's evident vexation. She stretched out her arm and emphasized the basket she was carrying, "I came to deliver breakfast. I made them this morning because I thought of adding up—"

"You don't have to think of the team always, Kotori!" her voice was cut by Riko's scolding, "Kuroko-kun told us everything last night! And didn't you read my messages? I told you that you don't have to come back today, just take your time taking care of yourself."

"But I'm fine, Riko-senpai. There's nothing to worry about." Kotori debated. "Besides, I feel more assured when I'm with the team." She reasoned out and then entered the kitchen to settle down her basket. It was kind of heavy and her arms are starting to give out.

"But it's best for you to relax, Yukina-san." Seirin's captain, Hyuga Junpei agreed with the coach's point. "It must have been traumatizing. I understand that you don't like to ditch your duty as our manager but you have to also take care of yourself—of your own health."

Riko nodded in agreement.

Kotori was smelling the cooking curry in the pot while her captain and coach said their thoughts. A nearby spoon lied on the kitchen counter and she used it for a taste test for the curry. Riko's cooking really improved; she was happy for her.

"Kotori, are you even listening to us?" Riko crossed her arms over her chest.

"I appreciate your concern, Riko-senpai, Hyuga-senpai." Kotori said, "For one last time, I am fine. I can handle myself well. Staying by myself in the house will just make me depressed, I like it more when I'm here with all of you."

"But!—" Riko was still not convinced.

"Can we just drop this off, Riko-senpai? It will be leading us nowhere." Kotori walked back to her basket and began taking out the homemade sandwiches, "I am already here… are you going to send me home? Please, don't." she pleaded.

Riko mentally agreed with Kotori. Yes, it was going to lead them nowhere with their conversation. Riko and Hyuga will just continue opposing and opposing while Kotori will have her own answers to defend her. It was going to be nonstop, and in the end, they will just waste their energies. The Seirin Coach sighed in defeat, "All right, all right. But I'm keeping a closer eye on you. Do you understand that?"

"_Hai, hai."_

With the argument settled, the girls went back to check on the curry while the team captain went to the dining area to wait for the food to be served. "By the way, what's with the getup, Kotori? You're the one who knows best that this is a training camp so why are you in a summer dress?" he asked.

Upon tasting the curry once more, she told Riko that the flavor was perfect. Then she turned back to Hyuga, who was now seated at the dining table, to answer his question, "My mother desired to see me wear this dress."

"I see… it suits you well." She heard Hyuga reply, but the next words he said were unclear to her. Though, she really didn't mind but Riko sent him a glare. Probably the coach heard it right.

"Whoa, it smells really good!"

"Coach is leveling up with her cooking. That's a relief!"

"Maybe Kotori-san influenced the coach with her _ojou-sama _spirit!"

Familiar voices came from the corridors of the cottage, soon, they entered the dining room for the mouth-watering breakfast they've been smelling. There entered the Seirin players.

"_Ohayo gozaimasu, minna-san. _Breakfast is ready." Kotori greeted with a sweet smile.

Everyone's eyes widened, except for Kuroko and Kagami who were the last to walk in. Kagami entered with a yawn while Kuroko was… well… in his morning hair mode.

"Kotori-san!" Koganei exclaimed.

They all ran towards her, "Woah, you look really beautiful with your summer dress!" Furihata commented energetically. It earned him a punch on the head from Hyuga.

"Stupid!" Hyuga scolded, "Shouldn't you ask how she's doing first?"

Furihata winced at the aching sensation on his head, "I-I mean, how are you doing, Kotori-san? Are you sure you have to be here?"

"That's right, Yukina-san. Shouldn't you be resting in your house? We're going to be fine." Izuki said concernedly.

The rest of the team threw her bunch of questions except for Mitobe, who was just standing there with a worried expression, and Kuroko and Kagami. Kotori found it hard to answer the questions being tossed to her at once, so all she could do was give them a vague smile.

"Everyone, just give her some space, geez!" Riko shouted and effectively made them take a step back. "Listen, Kotori will not leave the camp. Everything is fine, so you don't have to worry about her. End of story, now sit down and eat!"

Not wanting to deal with their demonic coach, they all took a seat at the dining table and waited for the breakfast to be served. But Kagami and Kuroko didn't comply.

"It's nice to see you, Yukina-san. Everyone was really worried about you." Kuroko said with a gentle smile.

Kotori demurely tugged a strand of hair behind her ear, "I'm sorry for worrying all of you… "

"It's all right. Just let us know if you need help, we'll be here for you." Kuroko placed a hand on her shoulder to assure her that she was not alone.

"_Arigato, _Tetsuya-kun." She really appreciated everyone's concern. Especially Kuroko. He was a quiet guy, but he had proven himself for so many times that anyone could rely on him.

They exchanged smiles, but then Kuroko was blocked from her sight by a taller and larger built. She looked up and met eye-to-eye with red tiger-like orbs. "Ah, hello there, Kagami-kun." she greeted.

Kagami Taiga, the Power Forward of the team, standing 6 foot and 3 inches tall, glared down at the barely five foot three Seirin Manager. "Don't use that tone on me! You didn't reply to any of my messages last night!" he scolded.

She noticed the circles under Kagami's eyes and her face turned anxious, "Were you not able to sleep last night, Kagami-kun? That can be a problem… have you seen the new exercise schedule I made for you? Probably you shall skip some hard workout and—"

"The hell, who cares about me and my schedule? And I was able to sleep well last night!" Kagami replied, somewhat irritated that the manager noticed something like that. As if he'd tell her that the reason why he was not able to sleep was because he was worried sick about her.

"Kagami-kun is lying. He's been up all night trying to contact you, Yukina-san." Kuroko cocked his head at the side to make him visible since Kagami was blocking him from Kotori's sight.

"You're still there?!" Kagami nearly jumped, "And shut the hell up, Kuroko!"

"Oh, is that so, Kagami-kun? I'm very sorry… I fell asleep last night waiting for my phone to charge so I wasn't able to answer anyone's messages." Kotori said in an apologetic tone.

"Just so you know, he was flipping out when Kuroko called us and told that you were unconscious at the hospital. He really wanted to go straight at the hospital." Riko interrupted, whispering to Kotori's ears.

Kotori blushed.

"What did you whisper to her, coach?" Kagami was furious.

Riko giggled. "Oh nothing." She then went back to serving the curry to the Seirin players.

"Most of all, he looked like he was going to murder someone when I told him that Aomine-kun was walking you home last night." Kuroko bluntly said.

Kotori blushed again, because of remembering what happened to her and Aomine along the way home.

"What the hell, Kuroko!" Kagami yelled.

'_By the way, you look like you're naked under my jacket.'_

Aomine's voice echoed in her mind. Trying to erase the thoughts and embarrassment, she robotically walked towards her basket and informed everyone about the additional food she brought for their breakfast. "_M-minna-san! _I made sandwiches for all… I hope this could make up for all the worries I've caused last night."

"Hey, I'm not done talking to you, Yukina." Kagami said.

"Uwaaa~ Kotori-san is really considerate!"

"Thank you, Kotori-san! You really are an angel!"

"Eat up. Today's training will be extra hard, so you all need a full stomach to survive the day." Kotori said, somewhat it was calming her down. Aomine's face must be erased in order for her to focus. He already occupied her whole night with nothing but his face and his voice, even when she was about to fall asleep. It must be stopped.

Oblivious to the girl, everyone in the room shivered except for Riko, who was nodding in agreement to Kotori's words. _Survive… the day? _They all had the same thoughts. Kotori may look like a gentle maiden… but her trainings, her exercise plans, workouts… they never imagined that they were going head-to-head with hell. It was a given for Riko—but even Kotori? They thought that she was the one who's going to save them…but it turned out she was a _very _serious person—very dedicated to her work as the team's manager.

"Wow. This is really delicious. Thanks for this, Kotori-chan." Without anyone's notice, Kiyoshi Teppei, the team's center, was already having his third piece of Kotori's sandwich at the Kitchen while helping Riko in serving the meal.

"Ah! That's unfair, Kiyoshi-senpai!" Tsuchida complained. So, everyone dived into Kotori's basket and fought over the sandwiches.

Kuroko easily got three to himself, and then he started eating the curry that was laid in front of him after making a small prayer.

Kagami got a bunch, being really inconsiderate with what was left for his senpais to eat. Well, Kotori did say that she made the sandwiches for them to make-up for the worries and troubles she caused. He was worried sick, he hated to admit. So in order to feel better, he must eat the most sandwiches.

Kotori giggled. It was really good to be back. She missed the team even if it was only one night she didn't sleep at the cottage. They continue to give her joy. They continue to give her strength. That's why she'd do anything to make them all win.

'_But I must say that __**my **__varsity jacket suits you more than your school's jersey.'_

And… Aomine appears in her mind to ruin her dreams for her team. She blushed in crimson red again and tried her best to find a way to calm herself down. So she went to her the team's schedule… and started making some modifications. She thought of all the possible trainings that would definitely push the team to their limits and improve as soon as possible.

"Ah, Kotori-san!"

Thus, the hell-_er_ week for Seirin had commenced.

* * *

One week has passed, it's the last day of summer vacation. It was an eventful and draining week for the Seirin Basketball team. With their manager making final modifications at their training schedule several days ago, they all thought that they wouldn't survive the week. They couldn't believe she took it to another level. What made it worse was their cruel coach—they already had a dreadful schedule, do they even need to have a beastly trainer? It was too much. But in the end, they could do nothing but follow the schedule. Still, even if Kotori had a brilliant mind thinking of the best strategies to make them better at basketball—even if it had to be so _dreadful—_her smiles and gentle attitude healed their suffering souls.

Seriously, she was very considerate and kind to everyone, but how could she not notice that her exercise plans were very torturing?

For Kagami Taiga, it was really challenging. _Very _challenging. Not only he had to follow the workout the manager and the coach made for the team, he also had to follow the workout Kotori made just for him. It was going to kill him, but he managed to be accustomed. Every night, he and Kotori would be in the gym to test the development of his body, speed, strength, and jumps. Indeed, he was thankful for her fitness schedule. He made huge improvements in all the aspect he needed in playing basketball. He was not the same Kagami Taiga who was defeated by Aomine Daiki anymore. She was really doing a hell of a great job.

For Kuroko Tetsuya, the week was really action-packed. It was the last week of summer camp, after all so he understood why the coach was all out on training all of them. They spent the whole day in the basketball courts, working on their strategies and developing their abilities. For the phantom sixth member, also completing his special move made just for the Winter Cup. He consulted Kotori at times and showed her his techniques to ask if there were still some flaws. Sometimes, Kagami would help him too.

For Kotori the heroine, it was a very fruitful week. She had seen how the team grew so rapidly. They had already improved since the training camp started, but this last week, all the players gave their all. It was tiring, but the training camp ended successfully. She also nursed Midorima for the whole week, and she was glad that his wound was healing fast. Sometimes, when she returns to her room after treating the Shutoku player and she walks by Kagami, he'd suddenly be very grumpy towards her and she didn't know why. Whenever Seirin had practice matches with Shutoku, Kagami was challenging Midorima on a one-on-one and every match wouldn't end without an argument between them. It was really stressful. But summing up the whole summer camp, it was a huge success. Shutoku may be their strong contender in the Winter Cup, but they were a great help to make the team stronger.

She was done packing her things up. It was about time that they leave the cottage. Kiyoshi was kind enough to offer her some help on her luggage and she was thankful for his gentleness. Just before they went on the bus, Riko and Kotori were the last to come since they gave thanks to the cottage owner who let them stay for the whole camp. They saw the players gathered, discussing something to themselves, and then they found out that today was the second quarter final game, Touou Gakou was against Kaijou Gakou.

Kotori was surprised. Touou is Aomine Daiki's team. Kaijou is Kise Ryota's team.

With a determined grin on her face, Riko beamed at all of them, "Let's watch the Inter-High!"

And then they all climbed up the bus.

Riko sat at the front, next to Hyuga. Kotori settled right next to Kuroko, taking the seat by the window. When she was settled down, she took her mobile phone from her pocket and decided to send a mail to Midorima.

_We'll be going first, Midorima-kun. It was a fun summer camp. See you at the Winter Cup. Oh, and please take care of yourself. I'll try to drop by in your school to see how you're doing. Have a great day. –Kotori Yukina_

The bus then started its engine and took the road shortly.

Suddenly, Kuroko turned at the back of his seat, cocking his light blue hair at Kagami who was seated behind them. "Kagami-kun."

Kagami, who seemed to be lost in his train of thoughts, was startled by Kuroko's small head making an arc at the front of his seat. "What the heck, Kuroko!"

"Just before we left, Midorima-kun gave me a message. '_Even a flea can jump. I only taught him a lesson because he's so stupid, na no dayo_." Kuroko narrated in a Midorima way of speaking.

Kotori giggled. She heard him say that to her once when they were at the Alumni Homecoming.

It made Kagami furious. "That bastard." He cursed.

"… Also, '_Do not lose until I beat you_.'" Kuroko continued.

It stunned Kagami for a split second, but he guffawed with a confident grin, "Like hell I'd lose to that idiot! You tell him that!"

Kotori smiled upon hearing Kagami's words, _I believe in you, Kagami-kun._ she thought to herself. And then all of a sudden, her cell phone began ringing. She expected for it to be Midorima, but then a different name was flashed in her mobile screen.

_Akashi Seijuro. _Her eyes went wide. Akashi rarely called her since they graduated Middle School. She immediately picked it up without hesitations, "_Hai, _Seijuro-kun?"

Kuroko gave her a stare. "Akashi-kun?"

Kagami frowned. _Seijuro-kun?_

"What is it that you need? You rarely call…"

'_Where are you right now?' _Akashi asked.

"Oh, we just finished our summer camp. We're on our way to watch the Inter-High, why do you ask?"

'_Come meet me at the usual place. We have an important discussion to make.'_

Kotori blinked, "Eh? But—"

'_I'll be there at exactly 1:30pm. Don't be late.'_

"Wait, Seijuro-kun—"

Then _beeeeeeep._

Akashi hung up on her.

Kotori sighed in defeat. What could she do? Akashi suddenly demanded for her presence, of course, she couldn't refuse.

"What did Akashi-kun say, Yukina-san?" Kuroko inquired.

Kotori shut her phone and placed it back inside her pocket, "He wanted to meet me. He said we must discuss something important." Then she took a glance at her watch to check the time. It was 1:10 in the afternoon. "Oh no. I need to get down soon or else I'll be late." She whispered to herself as she stood up from her seat, and Kuroko also stood up to make way for her.

"Is everything all right, Yukina-san?" Izuki asked.

Kotori reached up for her luggage at the baggage counter of the bus, "Yes, Izuki-senpai." And then she began walking to the front to where Riko and Hyuga were seated. Kuroko was gentle enough to assist her as she walked in the running bus, just to make sure she doesn't fall. She thanked him for his kindness before telling Riko about Akashi.

"What? But you need to be there! You have to watch the game so you'd see both teams' strategies." Riko complained.

Kotori clasped her hand in front of her in an apologetic manner, "I'm very sorry, Riko-senpai. I'll try my best to catch up with the game. This is just really important, please understand."

Riko sighed in defeat, "All right. Be careful and make sure you catch up, okay?"

Kotori nodded.

At the next bus stop, Kotori immediately went down and bid farewell to her teammates. She ran at the sidewalks as she anxiously looked at her wrist watch. She still had time to reach her destination on time. In every step she took, the more nervous she became.

One thought only occupied her mind at the moment.

_What did Seijuro-kun want? His voice… he sounded really urgent._

To be continued.

* * *

**a/n: **

Ohohohohoho. The plot thickens! What did Akashi want? Find out in the next chapter!

Please review! Reviews are much appreciated by this author. Hihihi.

See you soon!

**. **

**Vocabulary**

**Nani- what**

**Gokigen yo- a polite way to say "have a nice day"**

**Hai- yes**

**Arigato- thank you**

**Minna-san/minna- everyone**


End file.
